The present invention relates to a holder that has a top wall and spaced side walls which slip over a bagel or similar food item and which is used for holding an exposed portion of the bagel against a cutting board or supporting surface while a knife is inserted in a provided knife guide under the top wall and the bagel is sliced by moving the knife back and forth and downwardly toward the supporting surface. The bagel is kept from moving or rotating by downward force on the holder.
Various cutting stands have been advanced for supporting bagels, loaves of bread, or other food items and while providing a guide for a knife that will do the slicing. The food item needs to be securely gripped and in a position where the knife can be easily inserted and sliced through the food item. Positively guiding the knife that is doing the slicing is desired, and the ability to securely hold the food item, in particular a bagel, is needed.
The prior food slicers work, but are at times awkward to use since most have no ability to simultaneously hold and cut without putting fingers and hand at risk. Further, most holders on the market do not have a way of keeping the bagel from rotating when the knife is started. The hard crust and dense center cause a likelihood of rotation. Many of the holders position a bagel with the top of the bagel protruding from the top so the start of the cut is completely arbitrary and the end of the cut is against the base of the holder, causing shortened useful life of the holder and the knife edge.
The present invention relates to a saddle like holder for a bagel that slips over a bagel and can be gripped with one hand. The holder has a top wall and a pair of spaced, depending side walls that receive the bagel. The outer surface of the top wall is configured to fit in the palm of a hand that is using the holder, and a suitable knife guide and bagel stop is provided on the interior of the holder, near the top wall. The length of the side wall is such so that when a bagel is positioned against the bagel stop, and is between the side walls, a portion of the bagel extends out of the holder, below the side walls. The exposed end of the bagel is placed on a cutting board and can be held down with the palm of the hand bearing on the top wall. The bagel stop supports the top of the bagel spaced from the top wall so the knife can be inserted into the guide above the bagel and the bagel can be cut in back and forth, downward strokes. The knife guide is formed by two parallel walls that have concave lower edges that form the bagel stop to hold the bagel away from the underside of the top wall so a knife can be inserted easily.
Bagel grips are provided on the interior of the holder to hold the bagel from rotating when the knife is slid back and forth. In a preferred form, narrow holder walls extend in from the side walls a short distance, so the bagel can be inserted easily, but when gripped, the side walls flex together or inwardly and the holder wall edges press into the bagel. The holder walls are of a length and vertical direction that is less than the diameter of the bagel ring, so that the holder walls do not grip the bagel in the center hole portion or in the lower portion of the ring which is resting on a cutting surface.
The lower edges extend around the periphery of the bagel a sufficient distance to prevent the bagel from rotating when the holder is pressed onto the bagel and the bagel is cut.
The lower edge of the knife guide walls extend around the bagel periphery sufficiently so that the knife is guided through almost 50% of the bagel. The knife is safely operated by using the guide below the top wall and cutting away from the hand toward a cutting board. The side walls are sufficiently large so that the finger and thumb of the hand gripping the bagel holder do not extend beyond the lower ends of the side walls. Also, the top wall is concave so a hand will tend to center and not slip over the ends of the wall into the path of the knife.
The holder walls provide the preferred way of positively holding the bagel, and also, the holder walls extend to engage and support the knife guides to prevent them from separating.
The bagel holder can be made of a suitable plastic material that can be injection molded, and which provides for some resiliency of the side walls so a slight squeeze force can be placed on the bagel. The holder can be readily cleaned after use.